Chiefs Should Be Prepared For A Physical Training Camp

May 14, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid walks on the field during organized team activities at the University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In a little over a week the Kansas City Chiefs will start training camp. It will be the first under new coach Andy Reid and if his history in Philadelphia is any indication, it will be a physical one. Philly journalist Reuben Frank posted an article today on csnphilly.com that predicted some differences between the approach to camp between Reid and new Eagles coach Chip Kelly. While the sections on Kelly may not interest KC fans, the descriptions of Philly’s past camps under Reid make the piece a must read for any diehard Chiefs fan that is slowly counting down the minutes until camp starts.

Here are some highlights:

"Andy Reid never hesitated when asked why his training camps were so physical.“I just believe and I’ve always believed that tackling and blocking are important parts of football, and you have to work on those things at training camp,” Reid said before one of his last training camps with the Eagles.“We’re going to go up there and we’re going to hit. We don’t want to get anybody hurt, but you have to hit to get ready for the season.”"

"Reid’s training camp practices were notorious to the point where league officials informally asked him during the summer of 2002, a year after the tragic death of Korey Stringer, to eliminate his Three Days of Hell.That was the three days of live two-a-days that opened up his first three training camps at Lehigh. Since 2002, teams have been allowed to hit only once a day.As the CBA changed and rules governing practices evolved, Reid jammed as many contact periods as allowed into what was left of training camp."

"“I think we’ll hit in camp,” Brandon Graham said. “But I don’t think it’ll be anything like what we did with Coach Reid. I don’t think anybody hits as much as Coach Reid.”"

Andy Reid comes off as a soft spoken, “big teddy bear”, kind of guy. To those who thought former coach Romeo Crennel (also seen as the “big teddy bear” type) was much too soft on the players, it appears that won’t be a problem under Reid. The countdown to camp is on and it appears that Chiefs fans won’t have to wait long before the sounds of pads popping fills the air.